Ben has transitioned to playing on a full-sized field this year and I am finding it a very different game to shoot. The last couple of years of small-sided games have been easy in comparison, since the action was compressed and much easier to follow. Now that the field of play is so much bigger it’s harder to track the action.
I bought a new lens for more reach — a Sigma 100-300 f/4 — which has its own learning curve. The zoom lens works opposite from Canon’s so that’s taking some adjusting. It’s also a lot heavier than my 70-200 so I’m going to have to learn to shoot with a monopod I think. But the primary thing I’m going to have to get used to is its relatively slow focusing speed. It hunts a lot more than my Canon. This trait isn’t such a handicap when shooting swimming or golf, since a swimmer’s path is predictable and a golfer isn’t moving away from the plane of focus. Soccer players, on the other hand, are much more erratic!
So I’ve got my own pre-season kinks to work out, just like the boys in their opening tournament. Click on the photo below to launch a slideshow.
Nice photos…mine also just moved up to 11v11. I have a Sony Alpha and also a zoom lens, but am still working out the settings.